Conclusion

Rather than revisiting and expanding on earlier chapter findings, this chapter takes an unorthodox approach by exploring additional elements, either absent or only briefly mentioned in UK National Archives files, that may shed further light on London’s view of ETA and what British diplomats and officials termed the “Basque problem”. These include the post-Franco internationalisation of Spain, the evolving state of Anglo-Spanish relations, and the Irish lens through which British officials often interpreted events in the Basque Country. Picking up on this final theme, the chapter concludes with the author’s reflections on the key difference between the Basque and Northern Irish cases.